On diamond-free subposets of the Boolean lattice

The Boolean lattice of dimension two, also known as the diamond, consists of four distinct elements with the following property: $A\subset B,C\subset D$. A diamond-free family in the $n$-dimensional Boolean lattice is a subposet such that no four elements form a diamond. Note that elements $B$ and $C$ may or may not be related. There is a diamond-free family in the $n$-dimensional Boolean lattice of size $(2-o(1)){n\choose\lfloor n/2\rfloor}$. In this paper, we prove that any diamond-free family in the $n$-dimensional Boolean lattice has size at most $(2.25+o(1)){n\choose\lfloor n/2\rfloor}$. Furthermore, we show that the so-called Lubell function of a diamond-free family in the $n$-dimensional Boolean lattice is at most $2.25+o(1)$, which is asymptotically best possible.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figures Accepted to Journal of Combinatorial Theory, Series

On diamond-free subposets of the Boolean lattice

The Boolean lattice of dimension two, also known as the diamond, consists of four distinct elements with the following property: A ⊂ B, C ⊂ D. A diamondfree family in the n-dimensional Boolean lattice is a subposet such that no four elements form a diamond. Note that elements B and C may or may not be related. There is a diamond-free family in the n-dimensional Boolean lattice of size (2 − o(1)) n n/2 . In this paper, we prove that any diamond-free family in the ndimensional Boolean lattice has size at most (2.25 + o(1)) n n/2 . Furthermore, we show that the so-called Lubell function of a diamond-free family in the ndimensional Boolean lattice which contains the empty set is at most 2.25 + o(1), which is asympotically best possible

Sperner type theorems with excluded subposets

Let F be a family of subsets of an n-element set. Sperner's theorem says that if there is no inclusion among the members of F then the largest family under this condition is the one containing all ⌊ frac(n, 2) ⌋-element subsets. The present paper surveys certain generalizations of this theorem. The maximum size of F is to be found under the condition that a certain configuration is excluded. The configuration here is always described by inclusions. More formally, let P be a poset. The maximum size of a family F which does not contain P as a (not-necessarily induced) subposet is denoted by La (n, P). The paper is based on a lecture of the author at the Jubilee Conference on Discrete Mathematics [Banasthali University, January 11-13, 2009], but it was somewhat updated in December 2010. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Diamond-free Families

Given a finite poset P, we consider the largest size La(n,P) of a family of subsets of $[n]:=\{1,...,n\}$ that contains no subposet P. This problem has been studied intensively in recent years, and it is conjectured that $\pi(P):= \lim_{n\rightarrow\infty} La(n,P)/{n choose n/2}$ exists for general posets P, and, moreover, it is an integer. For $k\ge2$ let \D_k denote the $k$-diamond poset $\{A< B_1,...,B_k < C\}$. We study the average number of times a random full chain meets a $P$-free family, called the Lubell function, and use it for P=\D_k to determine \pi(\D_k) for infinitely many values $k$. A stubborn open problem is to show that \pi(\D_2)=2; here we make progress by proving \pi(\D_2)\le 2 3/11 (if it exists).Comment: 16 page

Poset-free Families and Lubell-boundedness

Given a finite poset $P$, we consider the largest size \lanp of a family \F of subsets of $[n]:=\{1,...,n\}$ that contains no subposet $P$. This continues the study of the asymptotic growth of \lanp; it has been conjectured that for all $P$, \pi(P):= \lim_{n\rightarrow\infty} \lanp/\nchn exists and equals a certain integer, $e(P)$. While this is known to be true for paths, and several more general families of posets, for the simple diamond poset \D_2, the existence of $\pi$ frustratingly remains open. Here we develop theory to show that $\pi(P)$ exists and equals the conjectured value $e(P)$ for many new posets $P$. We introduce a hierarchy of properties for posets, each of which implies $\pi=e$, and some implying more precise information about \lanp. The properties relate to the Lubell function of a family \F of subsets, which is the average number of times a random full chain meets \F. We present an array of examples and constructions that possess the properties